Muhsin Khadr al-Khafaji was No. 48; 11 still at large

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WASHINGTON — American forces in Iraq have arrested one of the remaining most-wanted members of Saddam Hussein’s government, U.S. defense officials said Monday.

Muhsin Khadr al-Khafaji, No. 48 on the 55 most-wanted list, was turned over last weekend to U.S. troops in the Baghdad area, the officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. The officials did not say who turned him over.

U.S. Central Command described Khadr as the chairman of Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party in the Qadisiyah Governorate, a region in south-central Iraq. In December, military officials announced he had a $1 million bounty on his head; it was unclear whether that money would be collected.

He was the three of diamonds in the deck of cards the military also uses to rank the importance of senior figures from Saddam’s rule.

The officials said they did not know whether Khadr was supporting Iraqi guerillas. One official said he would be interrogated.

Khadr’s detention leaves only 11 of the 55 most-wanted still at large. The highest-ranking on the list is Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, who was the vice chairman of the Baath Party’s Revolutionary Command Council and a longtime confidant of Saddam.

He is No. 6 on the wanted list and U.S. forces have offered a $10 million bounty for his arrest. U.S. military officials believe he is playing an organizing role in the insurgency.